- AI Elements
- AI Elements is a comprehensive React component library for building AI-powered user interfaces. The library provides 30+ components specifically designed for chat interfaces, tool execution visualization, reasoning displays, and workflow management.
- Installation
- Install via shadcn registry:
- npx shadcn@latest
- add
- https://ai-elements.vercel.app/r/
- [
- component-name
- ]
- Import Pattern
-
- Components are imported from individual files, not a barrel export:
- // Correct - import from specific files
- import
- {
- Conversation
- }
- from
- "@/components/ai-elements/conversation"
- ;
- import
- {
- Message
- }
- from
- "@/components/ai-elements/message"
- ;
- import
- {
- PromptInput
- }
- from
- "@/components/ai-elements/prompt-input"
- ;
- // Incorrect - no barrel export
- import
- {
- Conversation
- ,
- Message
- }
- from
- "@/components/ai-elements"
- ;
- Component Categories
- Conversation Components
- Components for displaying chat-style interfaces with messages, attachments, and auto-scrolling behavior.
- Conversation
-
- Container with auto-scroll capabilities
- Message
-
- Individual message display with role-based styling
- MessageAttachment
-
- File and image attachments
- MessageBranch
-
- Alternative response navigation
- See
- references/conversation.md
- for details.
- Prompt Input Components
- Advanced text input with file attachments, drag-and-drop, speech input, and state management.
- PromptInput
-
- Form container with file handling
- PromptInputTextarea
-
- Auto-expanding textarea
- PromptInputSubmit
-
- Status-aware submit button
- PromptInputAttachments
-
- File attachment display
- PromptInputProvider
-
- Global state management
- See
- references/prompt-input.md
- for details.
- Workflow Components
- Components for displaying job queues, tool execution, and approval workflows.
- Queue
-
- Job queue container
- QueueItem
-
- Individual queue items with status
- Tool
-
- Tool execution display with collapsible states
- Confirmation
-
- Approval workflow component
- Reasoning
-
- Collapsible thinking/reasoning display
- See
- references/workflow.md
- for details.
- Visualization Components
- ReactFlow-based components for workflow visualization and custom node types.
- Canvas
-
- ReactFlow wrapper with aviation-specific defaults
- Node
-
- Custom node component with handles
- Edge
-
- Temporary and Animated edge types
- Controls, Panel, Toolbar
-
- Navigation and control elements
- See
- references/visualization.md
- for details.
- Integration with shadcn/ui
- AI Elements is built on top of shadcn/ui and integrates seamlessly with its theming system:
- Uses shadcn/ui's design tokens (colors, spacing, typography)
- Respects light/dark mode via CSS variables
- Compatible with shadcn/ui components (Button, Card, Collapsible, etc.)
- Follows shadcn/ui's component composition patterns
- Key Design Patterns
- Component Composition
- AI Elements follows a composition-first approach where larger components are built from smaller primitives:
- <
- Tool
- >
- <
- ToolHeader
- title
- =
- "
- search
- "
- type
- =
- "
- tool-call-search
- "
- state
- =
- "
- output-available
- "
- />
- <
- ToolContent
- >
- <
- ToolInput
- input
- =
- {
- {
- query
- :
- "AI tools"
- }
- }
- />
- <
- ToolOutput
- output
- =
- {
- results
- }
- errorText
- =
- {
- undefined
- }
- />
- </
- ToolContent
- >
- </
- Tool
- >
- Context-Based State
- Many components use React Context for state management:
- PromptInputProvider
- for global input state
- MessageBranch
- for alternative response navigation
- Confirmation
- for approval workflow state
- Reasoning
- for collapsible thinking state
- Controlled vs Uncontrolled
- Components support both controlled and uncontrolled patterns:
- // Uncontrolled (self-managed state)
- <
- PromptInput
- onSubmit
- =
- {
- handleSubmit
- }
- />
- // Controlled (external state)
- <
- PromptInputProvider
- initialInput
- =
- "
- "
- >
- <
- PromptInput
- onSubmit
- =
- {
- handleSubmit
- }
- />
- </
- PromptInputProvider
- >
- Tool State Machine
- The Tool component follows the Vercel AI SDK's state machine:
- input-streaming
-
- Parameters being received
- input-available
-
- Ready to execute
- approval-requested
-
- Awaiting user approval (SDK v6)
- approval-responded
-
- User responded (SDK v6)
- output-available
-
- Execution completed
- output-error
-
- Execution failed
- output-denied
- Approval denied
Queue Patterns
Queue components support hierarchical organization:
<
Queue
< QueueSection defaultOpen = { true }
< QueueSectionTrigger
< QueueSectionLabel count = { 3 } label = " tasks " icon = { < Icon /> } /> </ QueueSectionTrigger
< QueueSectionContent
< QueueList
< QueueItem
< QueueItemIndicator completed = { false } /> < QueueItemContent
Task description </ QueueItemContent
</ QueueItem
</ QueueList
</ QueueSectionContent
</ QueueSection
</ Queue
Auto-Scroll Behavior The Conversation component uses the use-stick-to-bottom hook for intelligent auto-scrolling: Automatically scrolls to bottom when new messages arrive Pauses auto-scroll when user scrolls up Provides scroll-to-bottom button when not at bottom Supports smooth and instant scroll modes File Attachment Handling PromptInput provides comprehensive file handling: Drag-and-drop support (local or global) Paste image/file support File type validation (accept prop) File size limits (maxFileSize prop) Maximum file count (maxFiles prop) Preview for images, icons for files Automatic blob URL to data URL conversion on submit Speech Input The PromptInputSpeechButton uses the Web Speech API for voice input: Browser-based speech recognition Continuous recognition mode Interim results support Automatic text insertion into textarea Visual feedback during recording Reasoning Auto-Collapse The Reasoning component provides auto-collapse behavior: Opens automatically when streaming starts Closes 1 second after streaming ends Tracks thinking duration in seconds Displays "Thinking..." with shimmer effect during streaming Shows "Thought for N seconds" when complete TypeScript Types All components are fully typed with TypeScript: import type { ToolUIPart , FileUIPart , UIMessage } from "ai" ; type ToolProps = ComponentProps < typeof Collapsible
; type QueueItemProps = ComponentProps < "li"
; type MessageAttachmentProps = HTMLAttributes < HTMLDivElement
& { data : FileUIPart ; onRemove ? : ( ) => void ; } ; Common Use Cases Chat Interface Combine Conversation, Message, and PromptInput for a complete chat UI: import { Conversation , ConversationContent , ConversationScrollButton } from "@/components/ai-elements/conversation" ; import { Message , MessageContent , MessageResponse } from "@/components/ai-elements/message" ; import { PromptInput , PromptInputTextarea , PromptInputFooter , PromptInputTools , PromptInputButton , PromptInputSubmit } from "@/components/ai-elements/prompt-input" ; < div className = " flex flex-col h-screen "
< Conversation
< ConversationContent
{ messages . map ( msg => ( < Message key = { msg . id } from = { msg . role }
< MessageContent
< MessageResponse
{ msg . content } </ MessageResponse
</ MessageContent
</ Message
) ) } </ ConversationContent
< ConversationScrollButton /> </ Conversation
< PromptInput onSubmit = { handleSubmit }
< PromptInputTextarea /> < PromptInputFooter
< PromptInputTools
< PromptInputButton onClick = { ( ) => attachments . openFileDialog ( ) }
< PaperclipIcon /> </ PromptInputButton
</ PromptInputTools
< PromptInputSubmit status = { chatStatus } /> </ PromptInputFooter
</ PromptInput
</ div
Tool Execution Display Show tool execution with expandable details: import { Tool , ToolHeader , ToolContent , ToolInput , ToolOutput } from "@/components/ai-elements/tool" ; { toolInvocations . map ( tool => ( < Tool key = { tool . id }
< ToolHeader title = { tool . toolName } type = {
tool-call- ${ tool . toolName }} state = { tool . state } /> < ToolContent< ToolInput input = { tool . args } /> { tool . result && ( < ToolOutput output = { tool . result } errorText = { tool . error } /> ) } </ ToolContent
</ Tool
) ) } Approval Workflow Request user confirmation before executing actions: import { Confirmation , ConfirmationTitle , ConfirmationRequest , ConfirmationActions , ConfirmationAction , ConfirmationAccepted , ConfirmationRejected } from "@/components/ai-elements/confirmation" ; < Confirmation approval = { tool . approval } state = { tool . state }
< ConfirmationTitle
Approve deletion of { resource } ? </ ConfirmationTitle
< ConfirmationRequest
< ConfirmationActions
< ConfirmationAction onClick = { approve } variant = " default "
Approve </ ConfirmationAction
< ConfirmationAction onClick = { reject } variant = " outline "
Reject </ ConfirmationAction
</ ConfirmationActions
</ ConfirmationRequest
< ConfirmationAccepted
Action approved and executed. </ ConfirmationAccepted
< ConfirmationRejected
Action rejected. </ ConfirmationRejected
</ Confirmation
Job Queue Management Display task lists with completion status: import { Queue , QueueSection , QueueSectionTrigger , QueueSectionLabel , QueueSectionContent , QueueList , QueueItem , QueueItemIndicator , QueueItemContent , QueueItemDescription } from "@/components/ai-elements/queue" ; < Queue
< QueueSection
< QueueSectionTrigger
< QueueSectionLabel count = { todos . length } label = " todos " /> </ QueueSectionTrigger
< QueueSectionContent
< QueueList
{ todos . map ( todo => ( < QueueItem key = { todo . id }
< QueueItemIndicator completed = { todo . status === 'completed' } /> < QueueItemContent completed = { todo . status === 'completed' }
{ todo . title } </ QueueItemContent
{ todo . description && ( < QueueItemDescription completed = { todo . status === 'completed' }
{ todo . description } </ QueueItemDescription
) } </ QueueItem
) ) } </ QueueList
</ QueueSectionContent
</ QueueSection
</ Queue
Accessibility Components include accessibility features: ARIA labels and roles Keyboard navigation support Screen reader announcements Focus management Semantic HTML elements Animation Many components use Framer Motion for smooth animations: Shimmer effect for loading states Collapsible content transitions Edge animations in Canvas Loader spinner rotation References Conversation Components Prompt Input Components Workflow Components Visualization Components
ai-elements
安装
npx skills add https://github.com/existential-birds/beagle --skill ai-elements